Heroic Altruism or Court Martial for Stigler’s Decision to Escort Instead of Shooting Down?
THE STIGLER-BROWN INCIDENT The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, when, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Charles “Charlie” Brown’s B-17F was severely damaged by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to shoot down the crippled bomber but did not do so, and instead …